Heurtel, Barcelona put brakes on Milan

FC Barcelona Lassa bounced back from a road loss 48 hours earlier by outgunning AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan 90-80 at home in Palau Blaugrana on Friday. Barcelona and Milan both have 6-3 records and are tied for fifth place. Thomas Heurtel led the winners with 20 points and 6 assists. Kyle Kuric added 15 while Ante Tomic had 12 for Barcelona. Mike James paced Milan with 19 points. Jeff Brooks added 17, Arturas Gudaitis had 13 while Mindaugas Kuzminskas and Curtis Jerrells each got 10 for the guests.

James got Milan going with a driving layup before three-pointers by Brooks and Andrea Cinciarini gave the guests a 4-8 lead. Vladimir Micov and Kuric joined the three-point shootout, then a dunk by Adam Hanga kept Barcelona within 11-13. A red-hot Micov and Brooks each insisted from downtown but Tomic and an unstoppable Kuric answered for a 19-21 score. Heurtel hit a floater and Jaka Blazic added an off-balance triple to keep Barcelona close at 24-25 after 10 minutes. Barcelona made its move complete then as Heurtel struck from beyond the arc and Pierre Oriola added consecutive baskets in a 14-0 run that Kevin Seraphin capped with a dunk at 33-25. Heurtel erased a triple by Jerrells with his own from downtown and soon added a floater that made it a double-digit game, 38-28. James and Jerrells tried to change things for the guests and free throws by Gudaitis gave Milan hope at 42-36. Chris Singleton rescued Barcelona with back-to-back triples and a buzzer-beating floater by Kevin Pangos restored a 53-42 Barcelona margin at halftime. Tomic and Kuric took over after the break but Brooks single-handedly kept Milan within 58-47. Tomic stayed on fire and a three-pointer by Kuric boosted the hosts' lead to 65-49. A layup by Blazic and another floater by Heurtel broke the game open, 74-54, after 30 minutes. Nothing really changed in the fourth quarter, as even when free throws by Gudaitis got Milan a bit closer, 79-64, Oriola and Heurtel made sure Barcelona cruised to a well-deserved win.

Pivotal performer

Heurtel did a little bit of everything and punished Milan with points and assists after he came off the bench. He had a season-high 20 points in 21 minutes, added 4 rebounds and 6 assists for a PIR of 25.

Game-changing moment

Milan led 19-25 early in the game but Heurtel and Oriola combined for 9 points in a 14-0 run highlighted by Blazic's off-balance triple at the end of the first quarter. The run bridged the opening two quarters and gave Barcelona the lead for good, 33-25.

Stellar stats

Great shooting percentages made the difference: Barcelona hit 25-of-41 shots inside the arc (61%) and 8-of-18 from downtown (44.4%). Barcelona also outrebounded Milan by 36-23.

Did you notice?

It took Barcelona 16 games to get to six wins last season and 14 games two years ago. Barcelona got its sixth win in Round 9 this time around.

Head Coaches

PESIC, SVETISLAV

FC Barcelona Lassa

"Of course, we are happy to win every game in the EuroLeague. Except the beginning of the game and let's say the last two or three minutes, I think my players were very concentrated. We played a good game, I think, and this is important for me at this moment, in November – not just to win, but how we won the game."

"It was a difficult game just as I expected, because Milan is in very good shape, with very good rhythm. The play excellent basketball and to defend against three guards was, for us, very difficult tonight. We played a very good game except the start of it. We didn't stop them. They moved the ball very well in the first five minutes and we didn't make any foul, which is part of the defense. Milan is the best team in Europe right now moving the ball. Luckily, we played much better after that, controlling the game with our defense. Our defense gave our players confidence on offense, and we played well on offense, too. We played our systems, the way we wanted to play. Thanks to our third quarter, in which my players took a step forwards, we were able to use our talent on offense."

PIANIGIANI, SIMONE

AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan

"I think we opened the game the right way, sharing the ball. We could have finished the first quarter up by 6 but finished it up by 1. We changed the lineup and lost the flow. The second quarter decided a lot because today, we were with a different kind of energy than Barcelona. We know there is a difference of shape between both teams right now. I am overusing my players, not only to have this great start of the EuroLeague, but also in our domestic league. Today, we had a different kind of energy, and after this break in the second quarter, it was difficult to recover. My players showed again the right mentality in the fourth quarter, because this was a game that you can lose by 25 if you think you are tired and there is no chance to win. We played with pride and this is good for our mentality in our situation. We are without Nedovic and Della Valle, the second-best scorers in the EuroLeague and the EuroCup last season. In the end, we had a good reaction but Barcelona was too much tonight."

Players

KURIC, KYLE

FC Barcelona Lassa

"It was a very good game. They came out shooting the ball very well in the first quarter and got a big lead. But we rallied as a team, playing good defense and got back into the game – and that continued in the second half. I am just trying to help the team win. I am just trying to shoot the ball well and play good defense. We are winning right now, so I am happy."

TOMIC, ANTE

FC Barcelona Lassa

"It is OK [to be 6-3] especially because we played a lot of games on the road and won some of them, which is very important in the EuroLeague. Only the first 5 minutes were a little bit strange. We didn't start well, but after that, it was decent, especially in the second half."

BROOKS, JEFF

AX Armani Exchange Olimpia Milan

"We allowed too many offensive rebounds in the first half and the second chances gave them too many points and led to their double-digit advantage. The key was the second quarter, then we tried to stay close, but they were too much to overcome tonight"